


his loving gaze

by IronSwordStarShield (SweetFanfics)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Artist Steve Rogers, M/M, indirect love confession, uncertain tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 15:50:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20566919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/pseuds/IronSwordStarShield
Summary: Anonymous asked: I'd love something with artist steve and steve drawing tony, thank you!!





	his loving gaze

Tony slinks into his bedroom, presses his back against the door and sighs in relief. Good. He didn’t think he’d be able to sneak in without running into anyone but luck’s been in his favor. He supposes everyone’s still a little hung over from last night’s Christmas party. Whatever the reason he was blessed with a clear shot to his room, he’s achieved his goal. Now all he has to do is find the-

Tony’s thought skid to a halt when he sees the flat gift resting on top of his bed. That's unexpected. Who'd left him a gift? The green shiny ribbon gleams from across the room, pulling Tony closer. It’s a bunch of sketchbooks, in various sizes. _Steve’s_ sketchbooks, Tony realizes as he draws closer, causing his heart to palpitate. 

Licking his lips, Tony sits down and pulls the smallest book out of the pile. He turns it over in his hands, wondering why has Steve seemingly gifted Tony with some of his sketchbooks? (Is this some odd answer to yesterday…It has to be right?)

Tony tears the ribbon off as he sits down on his bed. He flips the book open and finds a stiff sheet of paper waiting for him.

> _Tony,_
> 
> _I hope these prove I’m serious about you_.
> 
> _Yours,_
> 
> _Steve_.

His heart _stops_. His brain meanwhile, feels like it’s on fire and there’s not a fire extinguisher in sight because _what_? What’s that supposed to mean? How is this supposed to prove… Tony shakes his head. He shouldn’t be putting the cart before the horse. He should check what these books contain. That should answer the greater question about Steve's feelings.

The first book he’s picked up is a small but fat sketchbook; a moleskin he remembers Thor having gifted Steve about two birthday’s ago. He opens the front page and sure enough, there’s a starting and ending date written there and it’s from two years ago. 

Tony flips the page and blinks at the rough sketch of his armor. Another armor sketch. Two pages of his eyes. His mouth - his smiles, his grins, his grimaces. This is like a character study of his smallest physical nuances that even Tony wasn’t aware of. Butterflies slam against his rib-cage, wanting out the deeper into the sketchbook he goes because it’s all him. It’s _all _him.

Hands shaking, Tony picks up the next sketchbook. It’s bigger, less fat but the pages are of higher qualities. It’s watercolor after watercolor of Tony. Smiling, laughing, frowning, building, mourning, fighting. In armor, in his suit, in his lab wear, in swimwear. Steve’s captured Tony in all walks of life and Tony marvels at his likeliness. There’s love in every line, thoughtfulness in every brush stroke.

Is this how Steve sees him? 

The answer to that question expands at the last and final sketchbook, which doesn’t have an ending date and was started a little over a year ago. The very first sketch, Tony notes with heart bursting to life in the pit of his stomach, is himself sprawled resplendent on a bed, naked save for the sheets artfully covering his crotch. It’s lovingly made erotic sketches, fantasies that Steve’s been nurturing; all the ways he wants to see Tony obviously. The only thing that strikes Tony as odd about the sketches, is how often Tony’s eyes are closed in them. Like…even in Steve’s fantasies, he doesn’t think Tony would look at him?

Bullshit, he wants to say, shaking as he looks at the only half finished sketch in all three sketchbooks. It’s him with his eyes open, looking at the viewer with such love, such fondness, that it makes _Tony _hurt. All Tony wants to do is look at Steve like that. It’s all he does sometimes if you believe the others. Steve was right. This does answer his question and Tony feels like a _fool _for rejecting Steve last night. He’d thought… he’d assumed that it wasn’t…God. Steve’s as serious in his feelings as Tony is. 

_How long have you liked me? _Tony wonders, the urge to ask the question pulling him to his feet and rushing to the door. _How long could we have had? Why did we wait so long? _

_“_FRIDAY,” Tony asks as he throws the door open, “Where’s Steve?”

There’s a conversation they need to have once Tony’s done kissing the man.


End file.
